Tragedy Strikes Hockey Community Again

The hockey community has suffered through its share of sadness this summer with the deaths of Rick Rypien, Derek Boogaard and Wade Belak, but the sport endured another huge blow Wednesday morning with the crash of a Russian jet that killed all but one member of the Kontinental Hockey League team, Lokomotiv.

Forty-five people were on board the Yak-42 aircraft, and all but two were killed. Among the deaths were former Boston Bruins defenseman and Detroit Red Wings coach Brad McCrimmon and longtime NHL star Pavol Demitra.

This past summer, I spent some time in Bratislava, Slovakia, where Demitra is a national hero. I can only imagine the mourning throughout the beautiful city of Bratislava tonight.

I grew up watching McCrimmon play for the Bruins, and I had the opportunity to meet and speak with him briefly in Detroit last year.  From all accounts, he was a gentleman, a good family man, and a good human being.

Only one member of the team survived: Alexander Galimov. However, Galimov was in critical condition with burns over 90 percent of his body. Everyone should have Galimov, as well as the surviving crew member, in their thoughts and prayers.

Lokomotiv tribute video from You Tube

We here at Causeway Crowd, as well as across the entire FanSided NHL Network, would like you to join us in a moment of silence on Twitter Friday morning at 9 a.m. show their sympathy by taking a moment of silence on Twitter at 9:00 a.m. We will post #KHLMomentofSilence at exactly 9 a.m. on Twitter and follow it with 60 seconds of silence and prayer. You are most welcome to join our family in this salute.